NY Marathon '05: I saw the balls

They were running down the other side of 4th Avenue, so I didn't get a picture. Luckily, someone else did!

I, of course, took the requisite fuzzy cameraphone photos.

So when we first got down there ("there" being the corner of 4th and, oh, 13th or so in Brooklyn), just a couple lone runners were striding by and I thought maybe we'd missed most of it. There was a makeshift band set up across the street under that green awning -- a guy, a girl, their toddler, a guitar, a keyboard and an amp -- and they were playing a Radiohead cover. It was all rather apocalyptic.

And then, all of a sudden, runners started appearing in surges.




It was a very cool sight to behold. We were standing at about Mile 8, so most of the runners were still in high spirits. Two French guys linked arms and were dance-running down the street together. ("They're European," someone behind me said aloud.)



The spectators to my left passed out Kleenex for brow-wiping. Radiohead was eventually drowned out by some canned yet festive Ricky Martin. Further down the street, a band of crunchy hippies formed a drum circle (are there any notable civic events that hippies don't see fit to celebrate with a drum circle?) and people hung off their porches and windows and balconies like they were welcoming troops home from war.

I'd never come out for the marathon before, but it might just replace the U.S. Open on my list of warmest, fuzziest sporting events. If only there had been spicy fries...